General Settings

Trae provides comprehensive settings to customize your development environment. You can access and modify these settings to tailor the IDE to your preferences and workflow needs.

Accessing Settings

To access the general settings in Trae:

1. Open the Command Palette by pressing Cmd+Shift+P (macOS) or Ctrl+Shift+P (Windows/Linux)
2. Type "Settings" and select Preferences: Open Settings
3. Alternatively, you can access settings through the main menu or gear icon

Settings Categories

Trae's settings are organized into several categories for easy navigation:

Editor Settings

Customize the code editor behavior:

• Font Family: Choose your preferred coding font
• Font Size: Adjust text size for better readability
• Tab Size: Set the number of spaces for indentation
• Word Wrap: Enable or disable line wrapping
• Line Numbers: Show or hide line numbers
• Minimap: Toggle the code minimap display
• Auto Save: Configure automatic file saving
• Format on Save: Enable automatic code formatting when saving

Appearance Settings

Control the visual aspects of the IDE:

• Color Theme: Select from available light and dark themes
• Icon Theme: Choose file and folder icon styles
• Activity Bar: Show or hide the activity bar
• Status Bar: Configure status bar visibility and content
• Sidebar: Adjust sidebar position and behavior
• Panel: Control bottom panel display options

Workbench Settings

Manage workspace and window behavior:

• Startup Behavior: Configure what happens when Trae starts
• Window Management: Set window opening and closing behavior
• Explorer: Customize file explorer settings
• Search: Configure search behavior and indexing
• Extensions: Manage extension settings and updates

Terminal Settings

Customize the integrated terminal:

• Shell Path: Set the default shell executable
• Font Family: Choose terminal font
• Font Size: Adjust terminal text size
• Cursor Style: Select cursor appearance
• Scrollback: Set terminal history length
• Environment Variables: Configure terminal environment

AI and Language Settings

Configure AI assistance and language features:

• AI Model Selection: Choose your preferred AI model
• Auto-completion: Enable or disable AI-powered suggestions
• Code Analysis: Configure real-time code analysis
• Language Support: Enable specific programming language features
• Formatting Rules: Set language-specific formatting preferences

Remote Development Settings

Manage remote development configurations:

• SSH Connections: Configure SSH remote hosts
• WSL Integration: Set up Windows Subsystem for Linux
• Container Development: Configure Docker and container settings
• Sync Settings: Enable settings synchronization across devices

Settings Scope

Trae supports different setting scopes:

User Settings

Global settings that apply to all workspaces and projects:

• Stored in your user profile
• Apply across all Trae instances
• Include personal preferences like themes and fonts

Workspace Settings

Project-specific settings that override user settings:

• Stored in the .trae folder within your project
• Apply only to the current workspace
• Include project-specific configurations like formatting rules

Folder Settings

Settings that apply to specific folders within a workspace:

• Override both user and workspace settings
• Useful for multi-language projects
• Allow fine-grained control over different parts of your codebase

Settings File Format

Trae settings are stored in JSON format, making them easy to read and modify:

{
  "editor.fontSize": 14,
  "editor.fontFamily": "'Fira Code', monospace",
  "editor.tabSize": 2,
  "editor.wordWrap": "on",
  "workbench.colorTheme": "Dark+",
  "terminal.integrated.fontSize": 12
}

Importing and Exporting Settings

Trae allows you to:

Export Settings

1. Open the Command Palette
2. Run Preferences: Export Settings
3. Choose the export location and format
4. Save your settings configuration

Import Settings

1. Open the Command Palette
2. Run Preferences: Import Settings
3. Select the settings file to import
4. Choose which settings to apply

Settings Synchronization

Enable settings sync to maintain consistent configurations across devices:

1. Sign in to your Trae account
2. Enable Settings Sync in preferences
3. Choose which settings to synchronize:
   • User settings
   • Keyboard shortcuts
   • Extensions
   • Themes
   • Snippets

Common Configuration Examples

Development Environment Setup

{
  "editor.fontSize": 14,
  "editor.fontFamily": "'JetBrains Mono', 'Fira Code', monospace",
  "editor.tabSize": 2,
  "editor.insertSpaces": true,
  "editor.formatOnSave": true,
  "editor.codeActionsOnSave": {
    "source.fixAll": true
  },
  "files.autoSave": "afterDelay",
  "files.autoSaveDelay": 1000
}

Terminal Configuration

{
  "terminal.integrated.fontSize": 12,
  "terminal.integrated.fontFamily": "'Fira Code', monospace",
  "terminal.integrated.cursorStyle": "line",
  "terminal.integrated.scrollback": 10000,
  "terminal.integrated.shell.osx": "/bin/zsh"
}

AI Assistant Settings

{
  "ai.model": "claude-3-sonnet",
  "ai.autoComplete": true,
  "ai.codeAnalysis": true,
  "ai.suggestions": {
    "enabled": true,
    "delay": 500
  }
}

Troubleshooting Settings

If you encounter issues with settings:

Reset to Defaults

1. Open the Command Palette
2. Run Preferences: Reset Settings
3. Choose which settings to reset
4. Confirm the reset operation

Settings Validation

Trae automatically validates settings and shows errors for:

• Invalid JSON syntax
• Unknown setting keys
• Invalid setting values
• Conflicting configurations

Settings Backup

Trae automatically creates backups of your settings:

• Located in the user data directory
• Created before major updates
• Can be restored if needed

Best Practices

When configuring Trae settings:

1. Start with Defaults: Begin with default settings and modify as needed
2. Use Workspace Settings: Apply project-specific settings at the workspace level
3. Document Changes: Keep track of custom configurations
4. Test Thoroughly: Verify settings work as expected across different scenarios
5. Backup Regularly: Export settings before making major changes
6. Sync Across Devices: Use settings sync for consistent experience

Related Articles

• Keyboard Shortcuts
• Themes
• Remote development using SSH
• Develop in Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL)